Hang on! It’s already winter. Today is December 1st and the official start of winter. The reference is from Game of Thrones, which I’m aware of and have never seen. In fact it’s only because of a copyright infringement on Twitter that I know about it. I didn’t even see the tweet. I saw it on TV or a YouTube clip. The source of which is our favourite president, Mr Tump.

What I am expecting from the current season will be almost four months without any snow when we think we are in the clear, having one of the warm wet winters that we have become used to. then right at the end when spring is on the way, that’s when winter hits us. Until then, I’m expecting boring warmish weather followed by a storm or two, and possibly the occasional flood that will ruin someone’s Christmas. Floods will of course remind us that building millions of new homes may not be such a good idea, especially when they are on or near flood plains.

I’m guessing “Winter is Coming” was just a metaphor. After a couple of winters it should not really be a surprise. So what is a metaphor for? I expect it’s a reminder of tough times ahead. The best we can do is be ready wrap up warm, make sure you have lots of supplies, and make sure there’s enough anti-freeze in the car. Because, when you’re nor prepared for difficult times, they can hit you hard. And it’s even worse if you don’t see the tough times coming. What would be much worse is not seeing it and not planning for the unexpected. Even much worse than that is knowing that you’re not able to protect yourself against the hard times because you don’t have enough to spare day to day, week to week. I think I’m just about fine for the real and metaphorical winter ahead, but I don’t know until I know, and that will be by the middle of next week.

If everything does work out, my troubles will be limited to which tyres I have on my bike, and which shoes I will run in to speed through the winter mud I’ll be racing in. Lucky me!

So I’ll remember how fortunate I am and not forget the shock from last month when  couldn’t access any cash from my account for a few days. Never lose that feeling, and you’ll deal with shocks when they happen.

Bring on Christmas!